AZ Arts Festival Grant

The AZ Arts Festival Grant, provided by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, supports diverse arts and culture festivals in Arizona. Grants are available for in-person, virtual, or hybrid events that emphasize artistic expression and community engagement. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, local government entities, and arts agencies. Festivals must span at least two weekends and feature curated programming. Ineligible activities include standalone productions and projects with religious or political purposes.

Festival Grants support the presentation of quality arts and culture programming through festival activities, connecting artists and culture bearers (or their artistic work) with communities.
Festival grants support in-person, virtual, and hybrid festivals.
For the purposes of this grant program, a festival is defined as a periodic celebration or gathering that…
features a varied and curated program of events, and
has an easily identifiable and unifying theme or specified focus.

Eligibility

Festivals eligible for Festival Grants must…demonstrate a thematic emphasis on arts and culture in their programming,
last a minimum of one four-hour day, and
only span a duration of two consecutive weekendsEligible applicants for Festival Grants include Arizona-based…Nonprofit organizations with tax-exempt status
University/college departments
Unincorporated organizations (may apply through a nonprofit fiscal sponsor)Eligible Expenses:Contracted Artistic Services and Artist Fees- Such as guest artist contractual fees including travel and lodging.Production Expenses- Such as insurance, sound, lighting, and equipment rental and operation for the artistic project only.Space Rental- Stage, space, or venue rental for the artistic project only.Marketing/Promotion- Such as contracted graphic design services the purchase of advertising space and creation of digital and printed promotional materials for the entire event.Accessibility Services- Includes closed captioning, interpretation, and translation services, visual enhancements, and listening guides.Public Health and Safety Compliance- Personal protective equipment, cleaning and sanitation services, and equipment/structuring to support distancing.Digital Operations- Fees related to video live-streaming services, access to webinar and conferencing platforms, closed captioning, translation and interpretation services, and digital ticketing/event management systems

Ineligibility

Seasonal series of presented works, as well as freestanding productions or exhibitions, are not eligible activities for this program. Festival activities can include juried processes, but scholarships, pageants or standalone award ceremonies are also ineligible.This program does not fund the following:Grantees that received Arts Commission funding in FY2022, but failed to file a final report by Monday, August 1, 2022.
Entities submitting an application for an FY2024 Creative Capacity Grant, Youth Arts Engagement Grant, or Lifelong Arts Engagement Grant (see FAQ for more information).
Applications submitted by businesses and for-profit organizations. School districts that would otherwise be eligible for Arts Learning grants.
An organization’s season or seasonal series of presented work.
Projects involving construction of facilities.
Debt reduction.
Food and beverages for receptions and hospitality functions.
Fundraising projects.
Scholarships, pageants or standalone award ceremonies.
Producing organizations to tour or present themselves.
Conferences, symposiums and the like.
Religious institution-led or religious group-sponsored projects not open to participation by non-congregants.
Religious institution-led or religious group- sponsored projects whose primary purpose is the religious socialization of individuals, or which exist as parts of religious sermons or services.
Equipment/capital expenditures.
Lobbying expenses.
College or university-sponsored projects not open to participation by the community outside the university setting.
Staff or board member salaries of the applicant organization.
Re-granting.
Indirect costs.
Grant administration, overhead or processing fees taken by an umbrella/parent organization as a percentage of the total award, with the exception of fiscal sponsors.
Any costs other than eligible fees.
This list is not comprehensive.
Additionally, according to the Arts Commission’s enabling statutes, “Notwithstanding any other law, no monies from the Arizona Commission on the Arts may be spent for payment to any person or entity for use in desecrating, casting contempt on, mutilating, defacing, defiling, burning, trampling, or otherwise dishonoring or causing to bring dishonor on religious objects, the flag of the United States or the flag of this state.” Recipients of Arts Commission support are further instructed to “take into consideration general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public” within funded programs.